I'm really having fun painting on these gourds; which remind me in so many ways of pottery vesels. I am attempting right now to direct scan them as I do my painted eggs, with, unfortunately, mixed results! Their very roundness makes it hard to catch the continuity of design around the gourd. Also I am trying to figure out a way to bounce light off them differently as this roundness lets the light fall off quickly, and they come out looking rather dark. I'll keep working on this though, and hope to come up with better ways to show off these gourds that I work so hard on. By the way, these gourds vary in size from about 2" in diameter to about 4" in diameter, and are somewhat flattened spheres.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This one is Arana Tejedora or Spider the Weaver, and she is shown here weaving the web of life. This is a common theme in indigenous American folklore. Of course most are familiar with the Hopi concept of Spider Grandmother; but a lesser-known tale I love from the Tohono O'odham of southern Arizona tells of a Great Flood, in which Elder Brother floated about in a basket for 40 days and 40 nights. When the water receded, the Earth wobbled about in the Sky: it could not stand still or find it's balance. Elder Brother asked the Spiders to come and weave Earth and Sky together so they would be held securely in their places. They did so, and Earth and Sky are together still.